AllFreeNovel
Share Us
She laughs. "Thank you, Michael." She rocks Romeo in her arms. "Can you believe we’re having one of these?"
I cup her cheeks and kiss her on the forehead. "I’m grateful for it every minute of every day since we found out."
She sways one more time before giving me a smile and heading back to the kitchen.
Damn. My heart is so full.
The feeling evaporates when I go out on our upper deck and see Crew waving his arms around angrily at Nathan.
"Tell him, Doc," Crew says, turning to me for back up. "He can’t just drain my hot tub an hour before a party without talking to me about it."
"I don’t have to talk to you about draining our hot tub. It’s a safety hazard."
I’m not sure which issue to address first, so I start with the obvious and easier one. I glance over the side of the deck, seeing that a hose has been connected and is in fact dumping a river of chemically laden water onto the grass I just managed to coax into green lushness. I pull it out of the hot tub to stop the flooding. "Nathan, it’s flooding the yard. We’re having people over. It’s ruining the grass, and it’s filled with chemicals. There are supposed to be kids playing in that grass later."
For a second, Nathan looks poised to argue. But then he glances over the railing and down into the yard. "I thought it would disperse more than it did," he admits gruffly.
"You can’t just go sticking hoses in shit and throwing out couches in our house without discussing it with us, Boss." Crew’s emphasis on the last word is sarcastic and angry.
"Safety doesn’t require a committee."
"The baby isn’t coming for another six months and won’t be moving around on her own for another six months. That’s an entire year where I can still enjoy my hot tub," Crew says. His voice and expression are frustrated. "Do you even know anything about babies?"
It strikes a nerve with Nathan. He crosses his arms over his navy golf shirt and narrows his eyes. "What do you know about babies?"
"I have a huge family with lots of cousins. Unlike you, I’ve been around babies."
"Thank you for pointing out that I have no family. I don’t exactly need a reminder, McNeill. But I’ve been doing research."
Shit. I'm about to intervene when Crew sighs and shakes his head.
"Nate, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean it like that. I’m not trying to rub your face in anything. I’m just saying that you can’t act like you’re the only father here. We’re all this baby’s father and we need to talk about stuff."
"Are you going to be a father?" Nathan asks him.
There’s no censure. He just sounds curious.
"It’s a fair question," I say. "We’re not exactly sure where you stand, Crew."
"Just because I didn’t want to get married doesn’t mean I’m bailing on my responsibilities as a father. I’m here. I want this. I want to be a part of all of this." He sweeps his arms wide to gesture at the house and the yard. "I want this baby and I want to be a father. But for fuck’s sake, I need you to treat me like a man. Not a kid. I am not a kid. I’m not going to be the fun uncle to our baby. I’m a father, too. And so is Doc, Nathan."
Nathan doesn’t say anything for a heartbeat. Then he nods. "You’re right. I’m not the only father."
Crew’s mouth splits into a grin. "What did you say?" He cups his hand to his ear. "I need to hear that again."
"I said I’m not the only father. You are both the father of this baby as well and I shouldn’t be making changes to the house without talking to you both and Danielle."
"That’s not the part I need repeated. I want you to hear that first part again."
"You’re right. There. Are you happy? Part of my soul just died, but I admit it, you were right, I was wrong."
"God, I wish I had recorded that on my phone," Crew says.
I eye the half-filled hot tub and look down at my soggy yard. "Are we all good then? Everyone agrees this was unfortunate timing and we should get back to hosting a kick-ass cookout for our friends and family?"
Crew nods. "Hell, yeah."
Nathan nods too. "Yes." He claps Crew on the shoulder. "I’m glad you’re all in."
